Despite controversy over funding and a delay by the Air Force, Shepherds Flat wind farm near Arlington in eastern Oregon opens officially at noon Saturday. Local, county and state politicians will join representatives of Caithness Energy, owners of the 845-megawatt project, the largest in the world.

The huge project, which began construction in 2009, includes 300-plus wind turbines over 30 square miles of sagebrush in Gilliam and Morrow counties. Early on, the Air Force investigated whether turbines would interfere with a radar station in nearby Fossil. That was a quickly overcome blip; the question of federal and state subsidies remains.

Politicians embraced the wind farm as an economic and environmental boost, a means to create jobs, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and combat global warming. In support of that, Shepherds Flat received more than $1.2 billion in federal, state and local subsidies -- taxpayer dollars -- for its $1.9 billion cost, The Oregonian reported in 2011.

And last year, Google, ITOCHU Corp. and Sumitomo Corp. invested $400 million. Google's power-hungry data center nearby in The Dalles won't use the wind power from Shepherds Flat, which will go to customers of Southern California Edison.